The opportunity for growth and improvement excites Jeff Heimel the most.

His mostly unproven and untested Great Falls Americans team is 4-0-1 through five games of the North American 3 Hockey League season, and the mentor believes the best is yet to come.

The Americans, which will play host to the Missoula Junior Bruins Friday night at 7:30 at the Great Falls IcePlex atop Gore Hill, are leading the Frontier Division standings despite playing one fewer game than three of the other five members.

“There’s been a lot of learning,” said Heimel, in his sixth season with the club, “but I’m really excited about this group. I think if you look at groups in the past as far as what we’ve accomplished and things like that, I think this group is very, very on par. I just think they’re different as well.”

Great Falls, which has won two out of the last three Frontier Division titles and advanced to the NA3HL’s national tournament twice since 2015, has scored 23 goals and allowed 14 through five games.

Payton McSharry, one of the few returning players from last year’s squad, has found the back of the net thrice and assisted on another four. His seven points are tops on the team, tied with Adam Vandenbos, another returner whose six helpers are a team-best. Matt Janke (3G, 3A) and newcomer Tanner Rath (3G, 3A) are also off to fast starts.

“We have a lot of depth,” Heimel said. “Our lines have changed multiple times already, and I anticipate it happening some more. We’re just trying to find the combinations that work and not have to rely on one particular line for offense, either. If we are playing the game that we want to play, we want to be four lines deep.”

Part of the season Heimel hasn’t named his team captain and two assistant captains by now is because his 24-player roster is made up of 16 newcomers.

“We have a lot of good leaders on this team,” he said. “I’m really impressed with the leadership I’ve seen so far from a lot of guys. But we are just letting that play out a little bit longer than we normally do, making sure that those guys emerge.”

Forward Cody Dearing (2G, 2A) and net minder Mack Wiley (2.50 goals against average, .914 save percentage) are new to Great Falls and have fared well.

While young faces are spread across the entire roster, it’s perhaps most noticeable along the blue line. Among the defensemen is Great Falls native Braxton Lorenz, who has a goal and an assist in the early going.

“Just with their youth, they are all getting better,” Heimel said. “It’s one of those things where we have a great D-core and they are just new to Junior hockey, with the exception of Luke Richesin, who has played, I think, a year of Juniors for another team.

"It’s a new D-core and with that comes a lot of patience and development, but the progress I’ve seen in those guys in the last month has been incredible. I’m excited about our recruitment, and I think you’ll start to see a lot of guys emerge.”